Splendid seeing this cemetery chapel in the heartland of America. This is St. Boniface Cemetery in New Vienna, Iowa. Our good friend, Fr. Nick Radloff, was recently ordained and celebrated Holy Mass here amid the final resting place of some of his German ancestors. Such a peaceful and beautiful place. I have to say how impressed I am with the creative design and impeccable interior finishing with the painted ceiling vault. There is also an impressive basement crypt vault with white and green brick where the clergy are buried. Many thanks to Fr. Nick Radloff and his mother Mary for sharing the pics -- and congratulations on your ordination!
How impressive to see the cupolina with Christ on the cross in the interior, visible from inside and outside, looking down upon the faithful who gather in the chapel. This is a nice touch, quite clever in design and beautifully executed. Very impressive work of architectural and design genius. I wish every Catholic cemetery could have a chapel like this for Requiem Masses to be offered daily for the deceased, perhaps by a retired member of the clergy.
St. Boniface parish church is equally impressive, a Gothic-style church with a striking two-hundred foot (61 meter) spire. The Archdiocese of Dubuque has a great many beautiful churches. This brings to mind the mind-series that Fr. Joseph Mary Wolfe did for EWTN called "Faith in the Heartland." This was a TV series done in the early 2000's about the Gothic churches in the area, highly recommended by Fr. Radloff and myself.
